Japanese military leaders, strategists and aces. What do you think?

[Zauriel]

Saburo Sakai- was Japan's greatest living WWII ace. He's credited with 64 kills of U.S. and Allied planes during the war, the highest score of any Japanese pilot to survive it. U.S. loss records corroborate his claims. He knocked down at least one of every type of plane the U.S. flew, including being credited with the first downing of a U.S. bomber in WWII, a B-17E, three days after the war started. He narrowly missed shooting down a B-26 that was carrying the future president, Lyndon Johnson. Sakai also claims to have shot down the last allied aircraft before WWII ended. Born in Saga, Japan in 1916, Saburo Sakai came from a family descended from Samurai, Japan's ancient warrior class. He was taught to live by the code of Bushido, which he defined in his book, "Samurai!" published in 1957 by E. P. Dutton, as living so as to always be prepared to die. He enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1933, at the age of sixteen. Basic training was brutally harsh with constant corporal punishment being administered. In spite of minimal education and little aptitude for formal study, he managed to finish at the top of his enlisted pilot training class in 1937. During World War II Sakai flew the legendary Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter aircraft, which for the first years of the war was considered the best fighter anywhere in terms of maneuverability and range. He soon became a living legend in World War II Japan. Japanese pilots invariably spoke in awe of his incredible exploits in the air. Among fighter pilots, he stood out, being the only Japanese ace never to lose a wingman, overshoot a landing--no matter how shot up his aircraft--or crash-land. By 1945, Sakai had logged some 3,700 flight hours, 1,700 of those in the Zero. Indeed, there are few aviators of the Pacific War who can claim such vast combat experience. Of the 150 pilots who began in his unit, only 3 survived the war. Of the five leading Japanese aces during the war--all of whom were friends--only Sakai remained at war's end, all the rest were dead. After retiring with the rank of lieutenant, Mr. Sakai became a lay Buddhist acolyte as an act of atonement. He had not killed any creature, "not even a mosquito," since last stepping from the cockpit of his Zero on a hot August day in 1945.

Saburo Sakai suffered a heart attack at Atsugi naval base in September 2000, while reaching across the table to shake hands with an American navy officer. He died at the hospital a few hours later, he was 84.

http://users.senet.com.au/~wingman/sakai.html

These other three figures below are the ones who planned and led the Pearl Harbor attack. The three were seen having pivotal roles in the movie Tora, Tora, Tora! They are also seen in Pearl Harbor movie and Midway Movie.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto- the naval fleet commander who led the Pearl Harbor attack. You might compare him to Osama Bin Laden but that is an unfair comparison. Yamamoto was a soldier who was following orders, not a terrorist who took joy in slaughtering civilians. I have likened him to General Robert E. Lee. He was hardly a coward but rather a realist. Yamamoto was a reluctant warrior whose opposition to war and disagreements with the Army who favored the expansion of the Japanese Empire made him an enemy of pro-war government and military officials. He also opposed the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the Imperial Japanese army's desires for an alliance with Germany. When Japanese planes attacked a U.S. gunboat on the Yangtze River in December 1937, he apologised personally to the American ambassador. He argued passionately for more naval air power and opposed the construction of new battleships. He recognizes the value of airplane and is always in favor of a naval air force when most of other admirals see little efficiency in using planes at sea. Yamamoto believed that in order to conquer the sea, they must also conquer the air. Yamamoto never believed Japan would win the war but that didn't stop him from still obeying orders. Yamamoto warned Premier Konoe Fumimaro not to consider war with the United States: "If I am told to fight... I shall run wild for the first six months... but I have utterly no confidence for the second or third year." Which is why he deemed a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor as viable if they would win the war. Following the invasion of Indochina and the freezing of Japanese assets by the US in July 1941, Yamamoto won the argument over tactics and the entire First Fleet air arm under Admiral Chuichi Nagumo was directed against the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, attacking on December 7. With around 350 planes launched from six carriers, eighteen American warships were sunk or disabled. Nagumo's failure to order a second search-and-strike against the American carriers and Yamamoto's disinclination to press him turned a tactical victory into a strategic defeat. In the movies Tora! Tora! Tora! and Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto's character says, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." Considerable doubt exists, though, whether he actually ever said (or wrote) anything like that; it was probably invented for the movies, although it may well have encapsulated some of his real feelings about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamamoto_Isoroku

Commander Minoru Genda- the Naval air staff officer and naval air tactician who strategically masterminded the Pearl Harbor Attack. You guys should have listened to his strategies on Pearl Harbor surprise attack in Tora, Tora, Tora!

Commander Mitsuo Fuchida- the leader of the first wave pilot squadron [edit] at the Pearl Harbor [edit]attack. On February 19, 1942, Fuchida led the first of two waves of 188 planes in a devastating air raid on Darwin, Australia. In June, Fuchida was badly wounded at the Battle of Midway and spent the rest of the war as a staff officer. Fuchida wrote that he was in Hiroshima the day before the atom bomb was dropped, attending a week-long military conference with the Army. He had received a long distance call from Navy Headquarters, asking him to return to Tokyo. After the war in 1949, Fuchida encountered a missionary who converted him to Christianity. In 1952, Fuchida himself became a Christian missionary and toured the United States as a member of the Worldwide Christian Missionary Army of Sky Pilots. He spent the remainder of his life as an "ambassador of peace", sharing the gospel message of forgiveness through Christ.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsuo_Fuchida

Note: Special Thanks to my comrade Minoru who provided the info about rest of those aces.

Hiroyoshi Nishizawa 'The Devil of Rabaul' (87 Kills)-His unit,the Chitose Kokutai,was transfered,in February 1942,to the Marshal and Rabaul Islands where he enroled into the 4th Kokutai,finding there Saburo Sakai who trained him and Toshio Ota(34 Kills) in Aerial Combat.During his stay in Rabaul he faced the American and Neozeland P40 Warhawk,the F4F Wildcat and the F4U Corsair,from which he obtained most of his Victories.In September,1943 he ascended to the rank of Sargent and returned to Japan to teach young pilots.Nishizawa was not particularly fond of teaching inexperienced pilots therefore,after filling paper after paper,he went back to the front,enroling in the 201st Kokutai in the Philipines,where he escorted the first Kamikaze attack by four Zero fighters against an American Aircraft Carrier stationed in Leyte,on October 23,1944.On that mission he shot down two Hellcats and,upon returning,voluntered to participate in the upcoming Suicide attack.He was not allowed.
He died three days later on October 26 when the plane in which he was being transported to Mabalcat was shot by two Wildcats of the VF-14 Squadron.
[i]Other IJN Aces:[/i}
-Tesuzo Iwamoto (80 Kills)
-Shoichi Sugita (70 Kills)
-Naoshi Kano(25 Kills)
-Kiyoshi Ito(18 kills)
-Takeo Tanimizu(18 kills)
-Susumu Ishihara(16)

What do you think of them?

[Index]

Originally Posted by Zauriel

What do you think of them?

Impressive. I'm always moved by the humanism and loyalty that Japanese officers can display.

[Shooter452]

There are many, many disputes over the victory tallies by the top shooters in the Japanese Navy from the Second World War. The Japanese did not keep official scores--individual achievement and glory were understressed and even discouraged. There was no requirement for conformation of victories--it is more than just possible that enemy a/c damaged in combat were able to make it back to their bases despite battle damage. Japanese aircraft did not mount gun cameras, so the most reliable source of conformation was always absent.

My favorite Japanese driver was Lt(jg) Junichi Sasai IJN--one not noted in the original post from Zauriel.

Sasai was part of the famous "Lae Wing" of Japanese experten, a group that included Sakai, Nishizawa, and Nakajima (the commanding officer). Sakai was fond of Lt Sasai and openly praised his abilities as a pilot of the A6M2 Reisen (Zero) as well as his qualities as a fine officer and a leader. Lt Sasai is credited with anything from 60 to 27 air-to-air victories (the low figure is pretty much beyond dispute).

What makes Junichi Sasai genuinely remarkable is the way that he perished in combat. Most drivers do not die in glorious dogfights against comparble enemy drivers--Sasai did.

On 26 Aug 42, during an escort mission over Guadalcanal, Sasai became engaged against a USMC Grumman F4F-4 driver by the name of Marion Carl. In a brief but fantastic battle between the two men and their very different mounts, consuming thousands of feet of air space. Marion Carl made a momentary pass on Sasai's Reisen with a 90 degree deflection shot (the most difficult approach by one fighter a/c against another) while in a vertical climb, from below (!!!), just before his Wildcat stalled.

Struck from below by Carl's bullets, Sasai was probably killed instantly but in any case, his a/c ignited and plunged to earth in flames. None of his comrades from the kokutai saw him fall, and he was carried on the roles as missing in action for the remainder of the war. This victory by Carl was confirmed by other members of VMF-223, and finaly in 1997 the scattered remains of Junichi Sasai's Reisen were discovered in the jungle of Guadalcanal.

Marion Carl went on to be a legendary test pilot, working with the "mad monk squadron" at Edwards AFB. When Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, he also broke the speed record held by Carl. In 1998, during the waning days of his life, Marion Carl was killed by an intruder in this home, shielding his aged wife with his body from a shotgun blast. Irony.

Faber quisque fortunae suae. Animus facit nobilem.

[Sensuikan San]

....all the "aces" didn't fly 'planes, either !

One of the better submarine skippers in the Imperial Japanese Navy was one Tagami Meiji - commander of I-25. Technically, he (and his crew)invaded U.S. territory in 1942 - three times !

It was his sub that launched the two infamous (and fruitless) bombing raids on the forests of Oregon ... which might have been more effective had it not been raining during the days before ! But he did exhibit substantial seamanship and courage in evading search aircraft by penetrating the harbor at Port Orford ... and sitting on the botton for the best part of two days!

During the same patrol he displayed substantial daring by chasing an American oil tanker up the Columbia River (well inside U.S. territory) before torpedoing it.

At that time he was only 29 years of age.

A far as I'm aware, he was the only Japanese military commander who actually penetrated United States territory. And he didn't do it in a teeny weeny 'midget' submarine, but a bloody great I-Boat, with a crew of a hundred, a hangar and an airplane ....!

These are all thundering good yarns ! Why don't we hear more of them!

Regards,

ジョン

[Shooter452]

As far as IJN sub drivers go, my nomination for number one on the Hit Parade is Commander Takichi Kinashi. He did not survive the war--his sub the I-29, was sunk returning from one of the "technology missions" to Nazi Germany in 1944 by the USS Sawfish--but he skippered the I-19 during what is perhaps the most destructive submarine attack in the history of naval warfare.

On 15 September 1942, Kinashi brought the I-19 around to stalk the two US Navy task forces that had been built around the aircraft carriers USS Wasp and the USS Hornet. He had been hunting his victims southeast of San Cristobal and northwest of Espiritu Santo. Kinashi's boat was part of a picket line of nine IJN subs trying to intercept the enemy fleet and the one that made contact. Approaching submerged from the southwest, Kinashi was hopelessly out maneuvered by the US ships on their northwest course in that he could never have closed to effective torpedo range even at flank (submerged) speed. Had the US vessels continued on that course, I-19 would have never gotten close.

Luck took a free hand, however, and the US carriers turned about in front of Kinashi heading to the southeast in order to turn into the wind in preparation to launch aircraft. This complicated fleet maneuver not only brought the I-19 closer to her prey, but presented a perfect broadside target to Kinishi's forward torpedo tubes. Kinashi busied himself plotting the torpedo tracks of his fish at the same time that he conned his boat, so he hardly noticed the density of targets that the American vessels presented toward him. He fired all six torpedoes in an opitimum spread at the nearest target, which happened to be the USS Wasp. Three fish struck the Wasp amidships on her starboard side while one missed her stern to the north and two missed her bow to the south. The fish that ran astern of Wasp ran for an additional 10,000 yds before striking the new battleship USS North Carolina under her number two 16-inch turret on her port side (she had not yet turned south). One of the pair that missed forward hit the destroyer USS O'Brien on the bow.

The Wasp was shaken by a series of secondary explosions as her magazines were touched off by the fires that broke out after the three torpedo warheads detonated. Shortly thereafter she went down by the stern with great loss of life. The O'Brien was so severely damaged that she broke in half and sank some time later while she was being towed for repairs. The North Carolina was crippled and required two months in drydock before she was returned to duty. Kinashi, who had no idea that he had scored on the latter two US Navy men-of-war, went deep and patiently avoided detection by US destroyers, satisfied that he had bagged a US carrier for his efforts. It was not until after his death that Japanese naval intelligence learned of the extent of his victory. He had been decorated for sinking the USS Wasp by both Japan and Germany while still extent, but was also posthumously promoted to rear admiral.

Commander Kinashi was a top-notch submarine driver, easily the equal of U-boat ace Günther Prien. He had also been lucky. I'd rather be lucky than good any day, but no one is good enough and luck always runs out, usually when you need it the most. Kinashi's luck ran out on 29 July 1944. The I-29 and her precious horde of German technological blueprints and design documents went to the bottom along with Commander Kinashi.

[sabro]

I remember when I watched Das Boot for the first time- how admirable the struggle for a losing cause could be. Certainly these men capture that spirit of honor and dedication-- I believe a statue of a young Japanese pilot still stands at the former US Naval Base in Okinawa because the original American commander of the base recognized the courage and dedication that the young man stood for.

[Thug]

Great info comrade.

Thanks!

[Loyalist]

The Japanese mentality of making an enemy pay for every inch of soil during an inevitable retreate is what I admire most about them. I belive many moderen millitary organizations fail to recognize the fact that if all their soldiers have the will to fight to the bitter end they may be able to bring victory for their country by their sacrafice. Unfortunately for Japan, America was cheap and used the "A Bomb".

[Eisuke]

That is interesting information. Here is a biography about Togo Heihachiro. He is Japan's greatest naval hero.

Biography on Heihachiro Togo

Admiral Togo at the age of 58, at the time of the Russo-Japanese War.
Tōgō Heihachirō (東郷 平八郎 Tōgō Heihachirō, 1846 - 1934) was a Japanese admiral and one of Japan's greatest naval heroes.

Contents
1 Early life

2 Tokugawa conflicts (1863-1869)

3 European studies (1871-1878)

4 Franco-Chinese war (1884-1885)

5 Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895)

6 Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905)

7 Later life


Early life
Togo was born on December 22, 1847 in the Kachiyacho district of city of Kagoshima in Satsuma Province (modern-day Kagoshima prefecture). His father was a samurai serving under the house of Shimazu, and he had three brothers.

Kachiyacho was one of Kagoshima's a samurai housing districts, in which were born many other influencial figures of the Meiji period, such as Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi. They rose to prominent positions under the Meiji Emperor partly because Satsuma had been a decisive military and political factor in the Boshin war against the Bakufu and the restoration of Imperial power.


Tokugawa conflicts (1863-1869)
Officers of Haruhi, in August 1869. Third-class officer Togo is dressed in white, top right.
Togo's first combat experience was at the age of 17 during the Anglo-Satsuma War (August 1863), in which Kagoshima was bombarded by the British Royal Navy to punish the Satsuma daimyo for the murder of Charles Richardson on the Tōkaidō highway the previous year (the Namamugi Incident), and the refusal to pay an indemnity in compensation.

The following year, Satsuma established a navy, in which which Togo and two of his brothers enrolled. In January 1868 during the Boshin war, Togo was affected to a paddle-wheel steam warship, Haruhi, which participated to the Naval Battle of Awa, near Osaka, against the navy of the Bakufu, the first Japanese naval battle between two modern fleets.

As the conflict spread to northern Japan, Togo participated as a third-class officer abroard Haruhi to the last battles against the remnants of the Bakufu forces, the Naval Battle of Miyako and the Naval Battle of Hakodate (1869).


Togo during his studies in Europe, in 1877.

European studies (1871-1878)
Togo studied naval science for seven years in England from 1871 to 1878, together with sixteen other students. He first went to College in Cambridge, to the Naval Preparatory School in Portsmouth, and to the Greenwich Royal Naval College. During 1875, Togo travelled around the world on the British training ship Hampshire.

Togo finally came back to Japan on 22 May 1878, onboard a newly purchased British-built ship, Hiei.


Franco-Chinese war (1884-1885)
Back in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Togo received several commands, first as captain of the Daini Teibo, and then the Amagi. During the Franco-Chinese War (1884-1885), Togo, onboard the Amagi, closely followed the actions of the French fleet under Admiral Courbet.

Togo also observed the ground combats of the French forces against the Chinese in Formosa (Taiwan), under the guidance of Joffre, future Commander-in-Chief of French forces during the First World War.


Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895)
In 1894, at the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War, Togo, as a captain of cruiser Naniwa, sank the Kowshing, a British transport ship working for Chinese navy.

The sinking almost caused a diplomatic conflict between Japan and Great Britain, but it was finally recognized by British jurists as in total conformity with International Law, making Togo famous overnight for his mastery of contentious issues involving foreign countries and regulations.

After the end of the Sino-Japanese war, Togo's career was not so prominent. He was successively president of the Naval Staff College, commander of the Sasebo Naval College, and commander of the Standing Fleet.


Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905)
Admiral Togo on the bridge of the battleship Mikasa, at the beginning of the Battle of Tsushima, in 1905.
In 1903, the Navy Minister Yamamoto Gonnohyoe appointed him chief admiral of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. That astonished many people including Emperor Meiji who asked Yamamoto why Togo was appointed. Yamamoto replied to the emperor, "since Togo is a good fortune guy."

In the Russo-Japanese War Togo defeated the Russian fleet at Port Arthur in 1904 and destroyed the Russian Baltic fleet in 1905 at the battle of Tsushima. This historic battle broke Russian strength in East Asia.


Later life
Later, Togo was Chief of the Naval General Staff and was made a Count. He also was a member of the Supreme War Council.

In 1913, Togo received the honorific title of Fleet Admiral.

From 1914 to 1924, he was then put in charge of the education of Prince Hirohito, the future Showa Emperor.

In 1940, shortly after his death, Togo Shrine was built in Harajuku, Tokyo in dedication to Togo Heihachiro. There he is celebrated as a shinto kami.

http://www.freeessay.com/biographies...eihachiro.html